ODDS AND ENDS

The town with the highest median age is
Denham at 50 years. The town with the
lowest median age is Ngaanyatjarraku with a median age of 25.

Australians produce the greatest level of
greenhouse gasses (per capita) in the industrialised world. This is not
something to be proud of.

Australia was the third country in the
world (after Russia and America) to launch a satellite into space.

Australia was the second country in the
world (after New Zealand) to give women the vote.

There were approx. 2,497,500 people in
W.A. as of March 2013. The total population of Australia at that time was
23,032,700.

There are slightly more males than females
living in W.A.

The birth rate in W.A. is more than double
the death rate.

Each year there are around 12,000
marriages and 4,000 divorces.

About 65% of the people living in W.A.
were born in Australia.

The largest religion in W.A. is
Catholicism. The next largest group are people who are not affiliated with any
religion.

The largest number of overseas students
studying in W.A. are from Malaysia. Previously the largest group were from
Singapore.

Natural Facts

The phrase "flat out like a lizard drinking" generally
means working hard at something but it actually comes from the ability of some
lizards (especially the Thorny Devil) to lie in a puddle of water and through
capillary action to absorb the water which is passed up to its mouth.

While on the subject of lizards, the largest member of the Australian lizard
family is the Perentie which grows up to 2.5 metres and can weigh in at 15
kilograms.

On the related subject of snakes, the longest recorded snake is an Amethyst
Python which measured 8.5 metres.

The Laughing Kookaburra which seems so much a part of the south west of W.A.
is in fact an introduced species.

Geographic Facts

The mainland land mass of W.A. covers
2,526,786 square kilometres, add the coastal islands to this and you get a total
of 2,529,875 square kilometres.

Mainland W.A. has a coastline that
stretches for 12,889 kilometres.

W.A. has the largest number (3747) of
coastal islands of any of the states.

The longest river in W.A. is the
Gascoyne. (865 Km) (The second longest is the
Murchison).

The highest mountain is Mt. Meharry. (1253
metres) Several other figures are also quoted but this is the official height.

The largest island is Dirk Hartog. (613
Sq. Km.)

The largest desert in W.A. is the Great
Victoria Desert. (348,750 Sq. Km.)

The highest waterfall is King George Falls
(80 metres).

The longest series of cliffs in Australia
are along the Great Australian Bight. (790km.)

The Nullarbor Plain contains the longest
and deepest cave in Australian and one of the largest in the world. (Pannikin
Plain Cave).

Murrawong Gnulling Gnulling Pool is the
longest name given to any natural feature in W.A.

WA represents 32.85% of the total land mass that is Australia but has only
10%
of the total population.

W.A. is the second largest state
in the world after Sakha in Russia.

If W.A. was a country in its own right it
would be one of the top 10 in size.

W.A. has the richest mineral wealth in the
world.

The Economy

Our biggest export dollar earner is iron
ore. In 2008-9 this brought in $33,529 million AUD. This was followed by gold at
$16,848 million.

In the same period China was our largest
trading partner and we exported $26,140 million. Japan was next largest at
$17,352 million.

W.A. exports about twice what we import in
dollar value.

Most overseas visitors to W.A. come from
the U.K. and Singapore.

Twice as many West Australians go overseas
as overseas visitors come here.

The two most popular overseas tourist
destinations for W.A. residents are Indonesia (Bali) and Thailand.

Other stuff

The most comfortable town to stay in
during summer in W.A. is Albany.

Western Australia has the greatest
concentration of aboriginal art in the world.

Perth is the only city in the world where
aircraft can land in the central business district.

The tallest man made object in W.A. is 387
metres tall - tower zero at Exmouth.

Time zones

Australia has three time zones most of the
time, depending on daylight saving. The times given here are without daylight
saving.

Western Australia GMT + 8

Northern Territory and South Australia GMT
+ 9:30

Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria,
Tasmania GMT + 10

Public Holidays

The problem with listing these holidays is
that the actual day off varies according to whether the holiday falls on a
weekend or not. Easter varies so much - anywhere from March 22 to April 25) it
is almost not worth listing it.